A man who coughed into the face of three Nottinghamshire Police officers, claiming to have Covid-19, has been jailed.

Rory McIntyre, 38, of Sherbrooke Road, Carrington, was given a nine-month sentence at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday (19 May 2020) after pleading guilty to common assault, threatening a person with an offensive weapon and three counts of common assault on an emergency worker.

The charges relate to an incident on 12 April 2020 where officers were called to Haydn Avenue in Carrington following a report that a man threatened a woman whilst she tried to get on a bus.

Previously the woman had promised to help McIntyre by getting some money for him.

He became aggressive and abusive to the woman. The victim wished to leave the address and changed her mind to not give the money anymore, but McIntyre wouldn’t let her leave and pushed her.

Eventually, the victim left, but he continued to shout abuse at her and then kicked her in the back. His actions caused a red scratch mark to her neck.

She again tried to escape him, this time trying to get on a bus, but again McIntyre pulled her back and ripped her jumper in the process.

McIntyre then armed himself with a piece of wood and smashed a car window. A man was also threatened by McIntyre in the incident and had his car damaged. Incredibly, the man managed to defend himself and his property with a child’s scooter.

Officers arrived a minute later following the report, quickly disarmed McIntyre and arrested him. He then abused officers and started to kick the rear passenger window with both feet in an attempt to break it.

He was removed from that vehicle by officers and he then went up to three officers and coughed in all their faces intentionally and stated he had coronavirus.

Police Constable Kulwinder Bazaz led the investigation. She said: “We hope the victim in this incident is given some closure as the whole ordeal would have caused significant distress.

“I’d like to thank PC Georgina Northwood who worked tirelessly alongside me on this case, as well as the City Prison Handling Team. We are both pleased that the courts have taken swift and decisive action in this case.

“Violence against anyone is abhorrent, but targeting key workers who are the very people on the front-line of dealing with the Coronavirus outbreak is a particularly mindless act that puts not only those individuals at risk but also their families, too.

“This case shows that Nottinghamshire Police will continue to target those suspected of committing any offence within our county and should serve as a further warning to those who are intent on targeting key workers at a time when they are working so hard to protect the communities they serve.”